


The Sound of Silence

by LadyGerbilLuna



Series: Avengers: The Sounds of Life [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Fix-It of Sorts, Hurt Steve Rogers, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Singing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-05
Updated: 2017-03-05
Packaged: 2018-09-28 14:12:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10113272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyGerbilLuna/pseuds/LadyGerbilLuna
Summary: He entered the halo of light from the darkness...





	

**Author's Note:**

> The Sound of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel, also sung by Disturbed

~~Hello darkness, my old friend  
I've come to talk with you again  
Because a vision softly creeping  
Left its seeds while I was sleeping  
And the vision that was planted in my brain  
Still remains  
Within the sound of silence  
In restless dreams I walked alone  
Narrow streets of cobblestone  
'Neath the halo of a street lamp  
I turned my collar to the cold and damp  
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light  
That split the night  
And touched the sound of silence  
And in the naked light I saw  
Ten thousand people, maybe more  
People talking without speaking  
People hearing without listening  
People writing songs that voices never share  
And no one dared  
Disturb the sound of silence~~

The idea of meeting up between battles, or so had been decided, was to attempt to repair the damage done to the team. It probably made the media happy, too, to see the group called the Avengers hang out together again. 

But to say that everything was better would be an understatement. Steve could admit now that the mistakes came from both sides, that if they could just change a few things, maybe their war could have been averted. 

And could-have-beens just left a person miserable, or so he had been told. 

So they tried to mend what they had. Tony worked on their behalf, perhaps as a way of apologizing, perhaps as atonement, to get them back, and they all fought to amend the Accords instead of merely bickering. 

So now, they met to do 'normal things' together, and hence why they sat in a theater, a balcony all to themselves, to listen to a mix of music. 

Yet Tony claimed he could not come. 

“Typical,” said Clint, still somewhat bitter. Steve almost agreed.

“Shut the fuck up, Barton,” snapped Natasha. The vehemence in her words made Clint snap his mouth shut, his eyes round. 

Otherwise, the concert was somewhat pleasant. Then, a pause came, and Steve glanced at his program. It merely said, “The Sound of Silence, by Simon and Garfunkel.” Natasha sat at the edge of her seat, more tense than normal. 

“You can do this,” she said, softly.

“Natasha, what...” Steve's words died. 

Slowly, a figure appeared on the edge of the darkened stage. The audience grew silent, any whispers quickly hushed. Tony walked slowly, his eyes never straying from the piano haloed in light. He entered the light, and Steve saw that the man wore a simple, black suit, a black shirt, no tie, and white gloves, the simplicity almost startling. Even as he sat at the piano, Tony did not look to the audience. 

His fingers rose, and Steve thought he saw just a slight shake, then the notes of the piano pierced the air. Yet what shook Steve was the haunting bass that filled the hall not moments later. His stomach tightened, his vision narrowed to the figure, alone in that light, though surrounded by musicians, surrounded by the silent audience, by his own team...

And was this song about Tony, who now felt the outsider, the bad guy of the team? Or was this Steve, who said nothing to protect Tony? 

As the last of the music died away, and the audience below them stood as one for a standing ovation amidst loud cheers, Steve jumped over his chair and raced out of the room, despite some calling him. His vision blurred as he raced out of the hall. He didn't go far, leaning against the side of the building. 

Footsteps followed him, and he looked to see Pepper approaching him, almost as sedately as Tony had been. Her lips were pressed tight, but he thought, maybe imagined, sorrow in her eyes, making them shine just a bit more with tears. 

“His mother made him take piano lessons,” she said softly, as he struggled not to look like some sort of jaded teenager who's heart had just been stomped on. “He said he hated the lessons, but he still played, from time to time. The one time I caught him playing, he jumped like a mouse.”

The image allowed a laugh, broken by a sob, to escape. He sat down, shaking just a little. 

“Why?” he asked. “Is this what he sees of me?” 

“Maybe some of it, but I think some of it is more him. Steve...I don't think Tony has ever been hurt more than what happened between you, because despite all the flair he displays, what hurts him the most is losing people he cares for.”

Steve closed his eyes.

“Why are you telling me this? Wouldn't you rather kill me?”

“People see me and Rhodey as the two who would do anything for him, would kill anyone for him,” said Pepper. “And we would. For him, anything. But I would never do something that would kill him.”

He sat quietly, watching the cars drive by, ignoring any of the people wandering around, maybe even staring at him. He didn't care for anyone to see, didn't care what the media said. All he cared about was trying to understand why something so simple could leave him more broken than any fighting. 

“Nothing can fully repair what happened,” said Pepper.

“What can we do?”

“Tear down the old, and build up something better. It's what he does all the time.”

He looked up at her, and his misery seemed to actually make her relax just a bit, but Steve tensed. The hand held out to him wasn't Pepper's. 

“'Take my arms that I might reach you,'” Tony quoted. His eyes were red-rimmed. 

Steve took his hand. 

~~Fools, said I, you do not know  
Silence like a cancer grows  
Hear my words that I might teach you  
Take my arms that I might reach you  
But my words, like silent raindrops fell  
And echoed in the wells of silence  
And the people bowed and prayed  
To the neon god they made  
And the sign flashed out its warning  
In the words that it was forming  
And the sign said, the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls  
And tenement halls  
And whispered in the sounds of silence~~

**Author's Note:**

> This ficlet came about when I was listening to the Disturbed version of this song, and imagined Tony singing it, and then I got my heart crushed.


End file.
